Hawai‘i Forest Legacy Program

The Forest Legacy Program is a Federal grant program that aids State’s in identifying important private forest lands that are threatened by development or fragmentation. Through the program, interested landowners are provided with alternatives to selling their land for development in order to cover costs associated with increased taxes, management of the land, among others by selling the land or a conservation easement on the property to a government organization. For more about the National Forest Legacy Program please visit the USDA Forest Service website.

Preserve watershed health and protect the sustainable yield of fresh water

Protect working forests as economic assets for the state and counties of Hawai‘i

Protect traditional and cultural forest practices and resources

Protect recreational forest practices

State agencies compile and submit acquisition proposals for competitive review and ranking. The State of Hawaiʻi accepts applications year round with a cut off date of August 10 for applications to be submitted for the following years funding. Applicants submitted after August 10, 2016 will be considered for the next years funding. Projects will be reviewed early September. If a project is accepted it will be taken to the Regional then National Level for review and competition. The entire process generally takes over a year before funding determination is known, after which the acquisition process may take equally as long. Parties interested in the Hawaiʻi Forest Legacy Program are encouraged to contact the Program Manager with the Division of Forestry and Wildlife prior to the August deadline as the application process may take months to complete and the program is very competitive. Current projects and descriptions can be found here.

Please contact the Program Manager, Tanya Rubenstein, for examples of applications at (808) 587-0027 or via email.